m i k e b r e v o o r t » Personal

Trippin’

Mike — Wed, 07 May 2008 03:52:07 +0000

The last two weeks have been a blur. Yesterday I returned home from a trip back to the east coast with Jeanie and Ephraim. We set out to show Ephraim as much as we could shove into four days. Prior to our trip though I was in Memphis and before that I was ill and remodeling my sister in-laws bathroom.

The trip to Memphis was work related. I really liked the city, but my trip was tarnished by a lopsided standoff with a concrete pillar in a parking garage and my rental dodge caravan. Claim still pending…

On Wednesday there was a power outage at the Memphis International Airport that wreaked havoc on flight schedules. I arrived home with only a few hours to unpack, pack and return to the airport for a red-eye to Philly.

While in Philly we stayed with my brother Joe in Prospect Park, PA… basically South Philly with a pizza or sandwich shops every third store. All the Colorado “New York” pizza shops should be ashamed of themselved. Pizza in Philly was still only ~$8 for a large pie. Most Colorado shops are almost double that. We got 3 large pizzas with toppings for less that $30. The last time I got Pizza in Colorado I paid nearly $40 for 2 “large” pizzas with toppings. Can someone please explain this to me??

On Friday we headed to New York City and rendezvoused with my brother Tom who was kind enough to treat us to lunch in Manhattan a few blocks from Marvel “… the fashion district, home of the tiny over priced portion.”

The next day we headed to Washington DC where we hooked up with my other brother Ken who treated us to dinner at a Mexican tapas-like restaurant where Ken and Ephraim ordered grasshopper tacos. No joke, there was a big pile of grasshopper wrapped in a corn tortilla! Missed photo opportunity for sure. Here are some other pictures…

On Sunday we attended the grand opening of Cambridge Sound Studios of the Newtown Square, PA since Joe did a painting for the studio. Awesome party. Great food and they even had Mummer!

Monday we hit the Jersey Shore before heading to the airport. Ocean City:

The final meal of the trip was a chicken cheese steak. Amoroso role, fried peppers, onions, provolone and hot sauce.

Mmmm Herrs Old Bay Potato Chips.

It was a great trip, but a long two weeks. I haven’t been on my bike since the CCTT two weeks ago and before that was the CCTT the week before. Not good spring training campaigh by any means…

East Coast

Mike — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:25:28 +0000

We landed in Philly this morning at 5:15 AM, and I’m hanging out with Joe at his house. We’re here through the weekend planning to see family and show Ephraim NYC, DC and the mighty Atlantic Ocean. I spent a lot of time in airports yesterday, finishing up a trip to Memphis and the power was out at the Memphis airport through mid-afternoon. I flew into DIA at 5PM, drove home, unpacked, repacked, ate at Qdoba, and headed back to the airport.

I haven’t been on my bike in over a week now and missed this week’s CCTT…

Time Trials

Mike — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 04:51:56 +0000

Somehow I though the winter race in Leadville was going to be my last race in the snow this year… afraid not. Tonight was Cherry Creek Time Trial #2. Attendance was lite and I welcomed the rock star parking as we enjoyed temperatures in the mid 30’s, a strong wind and persistent snow. I wish I had pictures to share. Maybe some will surface from Erik or Shawn. My time was a few seconds slower than last week and both were short of stellar. I can’t wait until we have some decent weather.

Last Saturday I did my first team time trial with Chris, Shawn and Erik at Haystack TT near boulder. I suffered like a dog and was dragged around the course by Chris and Erik. Shawn meanwhile was busy trying to stick the old dropped chain to cart wheel maneuver.

Approaching the line… ouch

Congrats to Marc V for his win at Fairhill last weekend! And good luck to Chris who just headed down to AZ for the Arizona Trail 300 “race”. If all goes well, Chris will be the first single speed (rigid no less) finisher of the AZT.

Still Here

Mike — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 23:18:47 +0000

I’d love to see stats on what percentage of all blog posts are an apology for not posting often enough. I have to assume the number is lower than I may expect since all the apologizing slackers (myself included), well, don’t post often enough. Anyway, that’s my passive aggressive apology.

I’ve been incredibly busy and have since transitioned back into consulting, taking a full time position with Avalon Consulting. I’m excited about my new role at Avalon, and the impact I’ll have there. I’ve recently had the opportunity to do some more work with Jira and set up a new Subversion environment. I should have some stuff to share there soon as well as pick back up on Grails.

On the cycling front, the first Cherry Creek time trial is Wednesday. I’m excited to see where my fitness is compared to last year at the same time. I’m about 13 lbs lighter if that’s any indication…

Hopefully more soon.

Few and…

Mike — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:57:22 +0000

Posts have been few and far between these days. I still struggle with what to share on this blog and what purpose I have for it. Going forward I am going to focus more on sharing technology related “stuff”. I receive so much from the open source community at large and one way to give back is to share my experiences. 10 to 20 times a day I search Google to find the answers and at least 1/2 the time I find a someones blog post that addresses what I was searching for…

On the cycling front I’ve managed to sporadically get on (on off) my bike several times in the last two weeks. My collarbone feels great and though I don’t have all of my strength back, it doesn’t bother me at all.

Thanks for reading…

Lack of Time and Content

Mike — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 07:33:47 +0000

This is just a quick “ping” post to let you know I didn’t fall off the face of the earth. Life’s been extremely busy lately; I’ve switched jobs and Christmas is upon us.

I got the all clear from the doc regarding my collarbone, and I didn’t waste much time as I got a day of snow boarding in on Friday at Beaver Creek. I took a few hard diggers and everything held up OK. Now if I could only overcome my laziness and get back on my bike…

In my lack of content, I offer you Scott’s spam/phishing email correspondence post.

Shortie

Mike — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:40:07 +0000

I got out on the bike again yesterday for the second time since my accident; this time for 1hr on the road. I have a doctor’s appointment on 12/6 where hopefully I get the green light to start training again. I’m feeling much better but one false move at this point could change that…

Back on the Bike (sort of) and Zombies

Mike — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:23:49 +0000

Sunday I was back on the bike for the first time since that faithful day of August 25th. My 40 minute road spin proved two things. First, I’m as out as shape as ever. Second, I’m skating on thin ice. At least I stayed up on two wheels though, right?

I met Lee Lefever back in June at the Online Community Unconference and I’ve been following his “In Plain English” video shorts since. I’m not exactly Johnny on the spot here but better late then never! Check out the new Common Craft video on Zombies:

[bliptv Leelefever-ZombiesInPlainEnglish188]

You can find more Common Craft Videos here.

Around the same time I met Lee, Marc began blogging about Zombies as well. Coincidence? A Google search on zombies and end times eschatology turns up nothing significant… for now.

Finally, in the living vicariously through a friend area, congratulations to Katie for winning the World Cup event in Pinjacker, Netherlands this weekend! “The 29 year-old totally dominated the women’s race in Pinjacker, Netherlands, where local Dutch riders had hoped to continue their domination… ”

A Few Halloween Pics

Mike — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 06:03:16 +0000

Enjoy!

Productive Once Again

Mike — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 05:19:31 +0000

For the first time since August I was able to do something physically productive. Since completely redoing our kitchen a year ago:

Before:

After:

… Since completing the kitchen remodel, I’ve procrastinated finishing the desk area. Today, I installed the wall cabinets over the desk, finally closing the kitchen remodel chapter.

Here’s the SketchUp Model:

And the completed project:

On the injury front, I’m feeling much better but still operating under the “don’t do anything stupid” advice from my surgeon. I’m supposed to be off the bike until I have a follow-up on 12/7. That said, my goal is to get out for a short road ride this week. As long as I stay upright I should be fine, right?

On the “living vicariously through distant friends front, Katie continues to dominate the cross season. Now leading the UCI points rankings and counting. She crushed this weekend. Good luck in Europe Katie!

Hopefully more frequent posts to come…